-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Leading figures in the world of soccer , including superstar David Beckham , on Thursday blasted FIFA President Sepp Blatter for controversial remarks he made on racism in an interview with CNN World Sport .

The head of world football told CNN 's Pedro Pinto there is no on-field racism in football and that any player who has been abused should simply shake hands with his opponent at the end of the match and move on .

Manchester United 's Rio Ferdinand , a former England captain , expressed his outrage on Twitter , blasting Blatter 's comments as `` so condescending it 's almost laughable . ''

`` I think the remarks were appalling , personally , '' Beckham said in an interview with CNN 's Paul Vercammen . `` All I care about is keeping racism out of soccer and out of sport . Because it 's not just in sports it 's in life in general . So it has to be stopped and we 're part of that . ''

Beckham , who plays in the United States for LA Galaxy , said something should be done , but he stopped short of saying Blatter should step down .

Pedro Pinto : My crazy day with Sepp

The chief executive of England 's Professional Footballers ' Association , Gordon Taylor , told CNN that Blatter should quit .

`` He should step down , '' he said . `` This is the straw that broke the camel 's back . We need football to set a good example , so this is inexcusable .

The Swiss was re-elected unopposed as the head of football 's governing body in June after his main rival was suspended amid corruption allegations . The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was also dogged by bribery allegations .

Soon after Blatter gave his interview to CNN on Wednesday , his position appeared to be undermined when the English Football Association charged Liverpool 's Luis Suarez with racism toward a fellow player .

Suarez allegedly taunted Manchester United 's French defender Patrice Evra . Suarez , from Uruguay , denies the claims .

London 's Metropolitan Police are also investigating allegations of racism against Chelsea and England captain John Terry . He denies claims he racially abused the brother of Rio Ferdinand , Anton , during a Premier League match .

Blatter : No on-field racism in football

The UK sports minister Hugh Robertson echoed calls for Blatter to quit . `` Racism is a criminal offense in this country and anybody who is caught will face criminal sanctions , '' he told CNN .

`` What Sepp Blatter has said , in this country , is just completely wrong as well as morally indefensible . This is the latest episode that calls into question whether this man should be the head of world football . For the sake of the game , he should go .

`` We have been consistent in our calls for improved governance at FIFA and this underlines the need for that once more . We must never be complacent in our efforts to tackle racism . There is no place or excuse for it either on or off the pitch . ''

The `` Kick It Out '' group , who campaign against racism in football , said Blatter 's comments were worryingly out of touch .

`` Shaking hands to compensate for a racial slur is not what the game has signed up to , and trivializes the work of campaigns like Kick It Out . ''

Blatter clarified his comments in a statement on FIFA 's website that carried a picture of him embracing Tokyo Sexwale , a prominent South African politician who has campaigned against racism .

Ferdinand responded to the picture on his Twitter account , saying : `` Fifa clear up the Blatter comments with a pic of him posing with a black man . . I need the hand covering eyes symbol !! ''

Blatter comments spark Twitter fury

Thursday , Blatter responded to Ferdinand directly on Twitter , writing : `` The ` black man ' as you call him has a name : Tokyo Sexwale . He has done tremendous work against racism and apartheid in Africa .

`` We have done several joint activities to raise awareness on the struggle against racism in South Africa . FIFA has a long standing and proud record in the area of anti-discrimination which will continue . ''

Later Ferdinand replied : `` To say what you said about racism in football spoke volumes of your ignorance to the subject . If we want to stamp out racism in society a football pitch is a good place to start -- loved by billions of people around the world -LRB- sic -RRB- . ''

In an exclusive interview with CNN , Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said racism was still prevalent in football , but the top tier in the English game was fighting hard to eradicate it .

He said : `` Racism certainly still exists in football , albeit reduced , but there are still issues , of course there are , and we 're not complacent about that .

`` But I think it 's a bit of a stretch to say it does n't exist because it does . ''

`` The English game had led and been at the forefront of reducing incidents of racist behavior -- it 's totally unacceptable , everybody in the game in England understands it is totally unacceptable .

`` We have that reputation , as far as I 'm aware , that reputation is still intact but the game will deal with whatever is thrown against it . There is no place for it in football , let alone in England , and we will strive to eradicate it . ''

Sports journalist and London Evening Standard columnist Mihir Bose said Blatter 's views demonstrated that he is out of touch with the modern game .

He told CNN , `` This wo n't topple him . It will damage him further but you could argue he was damaged goods anyway .

`` Blatter wants to be a showman , he wants to be in the public eye ... but these comments are incredibly insensitive and crass . ''

Bose said that although great strides have been made in the fight against racism in football , there is still much work to do .

`` Much of the racist attitudes that saw bananas being thrown onto the field at black players has gone , but there is still a pervasive racism , '' he added .

`` White players feel racism has been conquered but there remains a feeling of discrimination in the game which is why black players have reacted with outrage at Blatter 's comments .

`` They feel there is still not a level playing field -- they feel all they have fought for over the years has been devalued . ''

Can European soccer stamp out racism ?

There have also been several instances of racism in European football this year .

Former Brazil player Roberto Carlos walked off the pitch during a game in Russia when a banana was thrown at him and Chelsea 's Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun was taunted during a game in Malaysia .

CNN 's Paul Vercammen contributed to this report .

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NEW : Leading figures in the world of football , including Beckham , criticize Sepp Blatter

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World soccer chief caused outrage by saying on-field racism does n't exist in the game

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UK sports minister Hugh Robertson said Blatter 's views were morally `` indefensible ''

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Manchester United 's Rio Ferdinand called remarks `` condescending ''